Sweet Lucas is ONE!

Christmas Cactus!

Hallelujah! This Christmas Cactus is real!!! I have to tell you, my Aunt Hazel, God rest her soul, gave me two little clippings from her Christmas Cactus probably ten years ago (or more!). I rooted them, planted them and proceeded to torture them for the next decade plus. The plant moved with us to our new home and it's new home on the screened porch almost five years ago. After each summer, I'd bring it into the kitchen and sit it by the sink so it would get a drink or two from the faucet as I did the dishes (and I don't do dishes every day!). This year, I became the care-giver to Rachael's houseplants until they found their permanent home. This past fall, I moved her plants to the master bath and set them around the tub. I decided to move the Christmas Cactus in there also. Bingo! It must have liked the cooler, darker location (or it's new found friends) because a few weeks after Christmas, I noticed little buds appearing at the end of each section. Sure enough, the buds grew daily and now we have beautiful pink blossoms everywhere! I can't believe my eyes. I feel so bad for not having treated this poor thing better all these years. Maybe it's a sign that 2010 is going to be a really good year.

Isn't it ironic that this plant is just like me....late for Christmas but still wanted to acknowledge the holiday is grand fashion. Merry Christmas Cactus!

Looking Back at 2009

When I downloaded a picture of my Christmas Cactus, I found that I had some pictures of projects I hadn't shared with you in 2009! The Halloween container is a recycled bread crumb can wrapped in two layers of ephemera on background paper and stamping on acetate. I filled it with treats and sent it on its merry way to my bestest bud, Tumbleweed Tess. I'm working on emptying can #2 but it's going to be a while since I don't make meat loaf very often any more (John-boy complained about too many onions and wanted me to make it without ANY onions so I'm on strike).



The next thing I found on the camera is my last entry for PageDwellers in the "Anything Goes" category. I decided that fabric and embroidery (in a pink theme) would be my offering. They made it to Australia and Texas is good shape!

Happy New Year!

Hello Blogworld and welcome 2010! I have neglected my art and Stampindipity for some time now and thought I'd better put something current out here. Above are pieces I created for my wonderful friend, Tesse, for Christmas and her birthday. Below are details from her highness's birthday 'card'. It's not really a card in the normal sense but you crafty artsy folks might see it as a 'card'! Enjoy!

Customized Rubik's

You can create your own, too. Visit http://www.dumpr.net/rubik.php

What do I want for Christmas?

Happy Christmas

Not much time for blogging enjoy the 'snow'!

Underneath the November Moon

I feel so small standing outside in the dark underneath this November moon. The full moon and the clouds made the sky seem so vast and endless. It would have been a spectacularly bright moon if there were no clouds. I'm hoping moonbeams will bring muses to the studio...I'm in a creative slump.

Happy Halloween!

Enjoy the slideshow from our chilly Halloween eve! It was warm and windy yesterday but last night the rains came along with the chilly temps (and another, yes, another skunk!). We had a total of 10 trick-or-treaters tonight -- I said 10. That's a tad less than last year (maybe we had 12!). My pumpkin masks are courtesy of Martha Stewart (and mom's stash of black felt!). Bailee is sporting some little devil hair barretts and just hates to have her picture taken. The combo makes for a bad photo session so you're getting the best of what I got. I just had to share pictures of the sunset with you -- it was just so beautiful and fast. By the time I had snapped these, it was dark. Now there is a full moon with witchey clouds blowing by. Hope you had a Happy Halloween, too!

The Witch is IN!

Completed in the nick of time (and with a lot of embroidery help from my mom!) is my newest Halloween decoration - Zelda's Fancy Hat. I used the Crabapple Hill pattern #314 that I picked up this summer at a quilt expo. Of course, I had grand plans to have it finished by October 1 but that didn't happen. I embroidered the brim and mom did the rest. I stitched it together and stuffed it last weekend. Don't think there will be another one in my future. Enjoy!

Kristin & Adam Get Married....

...and Rachael was the Matron of Honor! The shower and wedding are over now and I have only a few pictures to show for it. It rained cats and dogs, the camera was acting up and it was dark in the church and the reception. I snapped a few and John snapped a lot of the cake....the most amazing cake I have ever seen (and tasted--it was carrot cake)! The roses looked real but they were made of icing also. It was a sight to behold. The groom's cake was grand also and went with the cute table favors (a guitar pick keychain printed with "Adam picked Kristin"). Enjoy the pictures!

PageDwellers Take 5

Enjoy the 5th in our PageDwellers series -- here's my entry for Birds and Numbers, our September theme.

I'm off to create the final "Anything Goes!" for our October theme before we take a break until 2010.

My New Favorite Artist

Yes, my new favorite artist is my great-nephew, Lucas! His mommy, Dr. Cooper, is just so clever. Who else but Val would have thought to set him free with his creativity and create a unique piece of art for their new house. Way to go, Lucas! You're awesome!

Goodbye Patrick Swayze - we will miss you.

PageDwellers Correspondence Page

Here's the fourth page in a series of five for your viewing pleasure. Next up is "Birdies" and then an 'anything goes' theme.

Wedding Season at our house!

This will make your day even if you don't have a wedding this month and next in your family! Enjoy!

More invitations

If you have wondered what I have been up to lately, here you go. I made 16 of these today and a few other items for the shower. There are so many things to do to get ready but I'll be squeezing in another set of PageDweller ATCs for this month's theme "Correspondence". More to come!

PageDwellers Page 2 and 3

Here are my 2nd and 3rd entries into our little PageDwellers project, "Seaside" and "Italian Influence" themes. What was I thinking in suggesting "Seaside" -- that was harder than I thought! Next up is "Correspondence" - one of my favorites. I'll show you the entire collection when all of the pages have arrived, probably in October sometime. Enjoy!

Cactus? Huh?

Here is a painting by Italian artist, Cipriani, entitled "Cactus" but all I see are paintbrushes. What do you see? I'm working on my third PageDwellers project with the theme "Italian Influence" and thought I'd look for some inspiration in the "Masters". This theme is a doo-sey.

OMG - I can't wait!!!

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD

Bakin' Cakes

I've always had an interest in baking cakes and no talent for decorating them but did that stop me from tackling two more cake projects? Here are my latest creations -- one for our Graduation Celebration blast last Saturday (Rachael (Masters in Education - Counseling, Art Therapy) on left and Valerie (Dr. Cooper, DDS, MS) on right). This one had to incorporate artisty and dentistry!



Baby Shower Cake for Josh & Heather -- welcome baby Sam!

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Now, back to work....PageDwellers is calling me!

PageDwellers Begins

I couldn't resist an invitation to join a tiny elite group of artists (world-wide, you know, as there are Aussies in the group!) for a 5-month project to exchange "house" ATCs. This month's theme is "Magical Trees" and this is my entry. I must say it was a challenge and I can't wait to see what the others came up with (I'll post them here when I receive them). I have my BFF Tess's entry but it's a long way from Australia to the US. Next up is "Seaside" -- my suggested theme. What was I thinking??? I know the possibilities are endless and I guess that's the problem....where to begin? Send me some vibes and maybe the lazy muses in my studio will think up something soon. Enjoy!

Have you wondered what happened to me?

It's a long story and nothing that everyone else hasn't experienced at one time or another what with work, kids, graduation, more work, etc. I won't bore you with details. Anyhoo, I was checking in on the internet this morning and found this image which caught my attention. Here's where I found it...go on over to the Curious Sofa and check it out. Enjoy!

Easter Greeting

I'm a little late in posting this but I wanted to share a beautiful Easter greeting from my BFF in Texas. She is the Queen of Detail and I especially like the way she used various stitches when adding the sewing details. Isn't she somethin'? Thank you again, Tess.

Once

Happy 25th, Sweetie

My baby turned 25 last week! Happy Happy Birthday, Sweetie. I'm so proud of you!

(The 'card' part of this creation is the little ATC size card in the center of the 6x6 size cardstock.)

Happy 17th Anniversary!

John and I decided that we would buy ourselves this awesome piece of art for our anniversary gifts to each other. We met the artist, John Bauman, at Summerfair a few years ago (if you check out his website and blog, you'll see the acorn casserole dish that we bought there. His work is fantastic and his stories interesting (not to mention he is a dog lover!). See http://www.baumanstoneware.com

Welcome Lucas!

Here's a card I made for my niece's inlaws to congratulate them on the birth of their first grandson (and my great nephew). He is such a cutie!

A is for Anniversary

This blog is temporarily in a funk. I hope to get it back into the groove soon before my two followers delete it from their favorites! Our 17th wedding anniversary is coming up in two weeks and I know I won't have the energy to create something as elaborate as what I did last year -- the anniversary book (pages 1 and 2 above). I also have my baby's 25th birthday card to create so I've got to get crackin. I'll be back uno momento!

Where in the world is Mike Jones?

Well, it's been so long since I posted something, I forgot my password. Sad. Sadder yet is I don't have any pictures to show you for all the hard work I've done lately. Instead I'll share a video my brother, Mike Jones, sent me. If you know my brother, you'll get such a kick out of this. If not, you'll have to just appreciate the music.

Snow Day

Snow, ice, sleet, more snow makes for a good day to stay home. Bailee loves, loves, loves the snow (the ice and sleet part is another story) and as you can see, we had a few laughs amidst the crackling tree branches and glistening snow. Enjoy!

Altered Torso

This is an altered torso that I created for my BFF Barbara (aka Tesse!). The pictures are the greatest but I wanted to share the details. It was hard to take one picture of the entire object and still have enough detail to look at. It might have helped to have taken the picture somewhere other than the bathroom next to my studio! Ü This was my first attempt at crackling the paint and that was fun. I know now how fast you have to work with the top layer to get it to crackle the way you want. Now I have to go make another one!

Enjoy! (I know she enjoyed it!) Happy Birthday, again, Tesse!

525,600 moments

Got home from work and the sky was just amazing! What a way to end 2008. Happy New Year everyone!

P.S. 525,600 minutes measure a year (that's from the show Broadway show Rent, "Season of Love"). I love that song. I hope every one of those minutes or moments in 2009 is a good one.

Do you like show tunes?

I LOVE Broadway! I took a few minutes to add some of my favorite show tunes. Check out the Fine Tune box on the right if you want to hear them too. Enjoy!

Christmas Memories

I'm working on a top secret gift for my mom but here's a sneak preview...it's a 1962 photo of my brother and me (probably taken with a little brownie camera (remember those?). Christmas Eve was always, and still is, a special time to get dressed up, have a nice dinner and go to church. We would be allowed to open one gift and it was always a new pair of PJs, a coloring book and crayons. I still keep a box of crayons in my desk drawer at work for a little aromatherapy on those awful days when you think you just can't make it through the day. It works!

Here's some fruit to make you smile!

Have you seen this? When John first hit the DVR rewind and said, "You've got to see this!", I thought it was the dumbest thing ever. Well, we started laughing, maybe because it is the dumbest thing ever, but we couldn't stop. Now it's one of those 'ear worms' that gets in your head and won't leave (sort of like It's a Small World at Disneyworld). Maybe you'll get tickled too....



...and have you watched the grandpa's expression in this one? It's priceless!



ok, back to wrapping presents!

....and here's my version....

...courtesy of Tesse, the recipient, here's how she displayed the garland I made for her. I think she's having fun opening each box each day and finding out what's inside. My mom asks me all the time, "well, did she open another one....and did she like it???". Mom, she loves them all. and isn't her mantel just gorgeous? We are two victorian peas-in-pods.